


Sea Changes

by Starshine_and_Rain



Series: Can You 'eel the Love Tonight? [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autism, Domestic Fluff, Egg Laying, Family Feels, Hybrids, M/M, Oviposition, Romance, Tentacle Dick, Tentacle Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-16 13:15:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16086854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starshine_and_Rain/pseuds/Starshine_and_Rain
Summary: Lotor was a squid.It was something that Keith never imagined, as he always envisioned a human lover, but Lotor was perfect. He knew exactly what Keith wanted physically and emotionally, and Keith soon knew that this was the squid with which he wanted to spend a lifetime. They would be happy together. They were in love.





	Sea Changes

_They were beautiful . . ._

Keith saw the obvious flaws. The bodies were like salamanders, with strangely shaped limbs and tails and thick skin, and their human heads perched eerily on top of broad shoulders, with the twins approximately the size of a komodo dragon. Yuki was the amphibian twin of Shiro, except with the skin tone that belonged so much to Lance, and his eyes revealed his cultural heritage and ties to his family on land. He was energetic and passionate.

It was such a contrast to Ren, who – while Asian in features and skin tone – bore the colouring of Lance and Shiro’s more passive personality, so that he was constantly seen cuddling up beside on father on the sofa or swimming with the other in the aquarium. They bickered and fought just like any other siblings, while laughing and playing just like any other friends, and they babbled endless streams of stories to their newly met uncle, while Keith struggled to process the information that flooded his senses.

They were weird, sure . . . no denying _that_. . . they were also his nephews, with each one distinct in personality and preferences and physicality, and he couldn’t help but stroke at their gills and pull at their tails. Ren currently slept in the aquarium, where Lance curled around him and cooed as if telling him some old bedtime tale, and Yuki played with a ball in the garden, as he rolled onto his back and used his four legs to toss the ball high. It was very much like watching at animal, but one with the intelligence of a human.

Keith leaned against the doorway. He rapidly blinked, as he let out a sharp exhale. Shiro slid beside him with a slight nudge, before slipping a hot mug of cocoa into his pale hands, and the scent filled the air enough for Yuki to call out that he wanted a drink in turn. There were two others in Shiro’s organic hand. He took one to Yuki, who dropped his ball and rolled onto his front, before lapping at the mug placed on the floor in front of him. Keith asked:

“Can he – er – not drink normally?”

Shiro winced. He ran a hand through black locks of hair, as Yuki lifted his head with a trembling smile, and – despite the confidence of the child – Keith saw a shimmer to those eyes that spoke of a greater pain . . . _‘am I not normal?’_. . . those cheeks even flushed dark, as if with an oncoming sob, and Keith jerked his head with a silent curse. He waved his hands in mock surrender, as he stepped back and pursed his lips, but it only seemed to upset Yuki more, as he burst into tears. Shiro lifted him up and rocked him.

A soft apology was whispered . . . _‘it’s past his bedtime’_. . . Keith swallowed back bile, as he remembered the traumas of his childhood, and it killed him that – even for a second – he made any other child feel that insecure and nervous. Shiro rubbed at his back with low shushes, before walking over to Keith and gesturing for him to keep his voice down, as Yuki appeared on the verge of sleeping in his father’s arms. Shiro whispered with a sigh:

“We don’t use that word in this house.”

“What word?”

“‘Normal’,” said Shiro. “The boys have opposable thumbs, but there’s less dexterity and co-ordination for finicky tasks and a greater sensitivity to heat. It’s easier for them to drink hot drinks this way, just because I don’t want them being scalded if it spills, and they also have long and flexible tongues so it’s no problem for them to drink like this.”

“Okay, but you get how hard this is for me, right?” Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you know this is like bestiality? How is your DNA even compatible? How do you guys not pass on diseases or illnesses to one another? None of this makes sense!”

“I don’t know, Keith. I wondered if this is where the legend of mermaids came from, because maybe sometimes – in some circumstances – it’s possible for different species to breed like this for whatever reason. I think Lance has some human blood in him, which might be why he picked up the language so easily and has such beautiful eyes. We’re just working out what to do long-term, as I want to move with him into the ocean. I want us to be together.”

Yuki murmured against Shiro’s chest. A little bit of drool escaped his lips, as his tail swayed in his sleep, and Keith – with a wince of regret – was reminded of dogs when they dreamt of chasing animals, enough that he cast his gaze away and bit into his lip. This was his _nephew_! It was cruel beyond measure to compare him to beasts and creatures, but equally he was half-eel and something that should not even exist. Keith scratched at his head, while he pursed and gnawed at his lips in search of some words. He drew in a deep breath.

“What are you going to _do_ in this ocean?” Keith rolled his eyes. “Do they have technology to keep humans away and from experimenting on you guys? I know I’d be thinking of vivisection if I met a half-eel that defied all scientific possibilities, especially if it came from an advanced civilisation with apparently the technology to give people gills.”

“Keith, you’re being too negative. The children –”

“How would you contribute to their society? Can you eat what they eat? How does a society like that even _work_? Do you have squids running factories? Do you have crabs running local shops? How is it even self-sufficient? How do they not eat each other?”

Keith spun around. He folded his arms across his chest, while he gazed out over the ocean, and he thought back to the times when Shiro’s biggest problem was whether to adopt or use a surrogate, before the accident happened . . . now it was whether serving fish for dinner counted as cannibalism. The breeze was strong, while the dark sky showed every single star to perfection. It was the perfect night. The quiet drifted through the vast expanse around them, until only crickets and waves could be heard, but Shiro interrupted with:

“Why don’t you go cool off by the beach for a while?”

The waves crashed against the shore. It was enough to maybe surf or swim, but not enough to get swept away or lost, and the sounds were so rhythmic and monotonous that he closed his eyes and half-smiled as he was lulled almost into a trance. The idea of his eel in-laws swimming about was less than a comforting thought, but the day had been a massive influx of extraordinary information that turned his whole perception of existence upside-down.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea . . .”

* * *

The waves washed over him. It was refreshing and a change from the pools, where everything was controlled by machinery and people, and this was simply nature at its finest, as the stars twinkled above and reflected back at him from the dark waters. Keith smiled, as his feet kicked out under the surface to keep afloat. He pushed back his black hair. It fell slick to his scalp, while the droplets ran down his cheeks and neck.

Keith splashed back and forth, while he cast his eyes over the landscape. There was no sign of any other life, not even a passing boat or a swooping bird, and he furrowed his brow in concentration, as he slowly cast his gaze over every wave and shadow and movement. _A soft touch brushed against his calf_. Keith kicked away the strange touch, although he glanced briefly back to shore and touched at his foot, and – sensing no seaweed – floated a little further away with a blush and a shake of his head. He thought he was alone.

A second touch followed, but this time it wrapped slowly around his leg, much like a snake or perhaps an eel . . . it was slow, soft, but also cold . . . Keith was reminded of a wet flannel slowly tracing skin, perhaps silk sheets on a cool evening, but – whatever it was – it was moving higher and higher until it reached his thigh. He reached down to push it away, but lost balance in the water and splashed until he was back upright.

“Is – Is anyone else there? Lance? Kids?”

Keith swallowed hard. A second object wrapped around his other leg, before parting them wide, and he fell forward with a loud cry and wide eyes, until something large and purple wrapped around his abdomen and slowly lifted him upward. He could see it now . . . a purple tendril . . . no, a _tentacle_. . . suckers lay along the underside, clinging to his skin with pure suction, and the two around his leg also applied a great deal of suction. He was stuck.

All he could hear was his racing heart. His pulse pounded in his ears. He struck out with his hands, as he tried to pry the tentacles from his mostly naked body, but then two more shot out from the sea and snatched at his wrists, and soon – as he fought and cried – he was held spread-eagle in the air by five tentacles of various sizes. A sixth came lurching from the waters to pull down his shorts, until they were wrenched from his body and left floating some feet away from him, and – to his shame – he was already half-erect.

“I – I’ve not . . . I’ve not done this before.”

He swallowed hard. A part of him wanted to fight, but he also wanted the tentacles to carry on in their exploration . . . no one would blame him or judge him, as it wasn’t his fault or choice, and _finally_ he could let go of control, as someone else took the reins . . . just the idea of being used by a stranger – one inhuman, too – brought him to full mast. There was no pressure of flirting, social expectations, whether he would be any good . . . there was only the overwhelming sensations, while it wasn’t _really_ sex, was it? He panted for breath.

He would still be a technical virgin, right? Keith was leaking pre-come, with the flared head of his cock glistening with water and natural emissions, and the tidy thatch of black curls was a stark contrast to the new sixth tentacle. The new tentacle had what looked like a mouth at the end, without teeth and gaping with a strangely forked tongue that would dip out on every undulation of those ‘lips’, and it hovered dangerously close to his cock.

“I – I can’t do this with someone that I don’t know.”

The tentacle began to pull away.

“W-Wait! I just – I just need a name.”

The tentacle moved closer and closer to his erection. The forked tongue caught at his slit, dipping inside and tickling around the edges, and Keith instinctively bucked into it with a loud cry, as the five other tentacles held him in place. Every spurt of pre-come that burst forth from his slit was licked away by this creature, until it appeared hungry beyond measure, and suddenly it shoved Keith’s cock deep into its ‘mouth’. He swallowed him whole.

It was the most intense pleasure of his life! The inner walls of the tentacle were warm, like a mouth, but ridged liked the inside of an anus, with the same strength to clamp down on his cock and milk it for all it was worth. It undulated inside, too, a literal milking motion. Keith bucked and thrust into it, while wishing he had usage of his hands to play with his nipples, but maybe – one day – they could do this on land and this creature would have more ‘arms’ for playing with him. Drool dripped from Keith’s lips, as his pupils blew wide.

A purple object emerged from the waters before him. He saw the piercing blue eyes before he saw anything else, attached to the head of what appeared to be a giant squid, and it must have been about the size of an adult human. A wave of long locks floated on the water’s surface for several feet, perhaps waist-length on a biped, and it was a pure white in stark contrast to its purple skin, but more beautiful that anything Keith could ever imagine. 

“Lotor,” it heaved.

The voice was raspy and muffled, as if speaking for the first time in its life. It was difficult to tell from where the voice emerged, but – with vibrations shooting through every nerve in his groin – Keith had a slight idea. Keith clenched his fists, while sparks appeared before his vision and his body flushed a dark shade of red, and he mewled like a kitten as he thrust back deep inside the mouth of the tentacle. He gazed to the sixth tentacle . . .

It was phallic at the end, as purple as the body of Lotor, and the mushroom head of the penis was more rounded than Keith’s member, as well as perhaps a little larger in girth. There were thick veins all around the shaft and under the head, while it was weeping pre-come in large spurts, and – as it pressed itself to Keith’s lips – the pre-come was surprisingly sweet, like strawberries or chocolate, and Keith started to suckle at the slit, while moaning in sheer arousal. He barely noticed as a seventh tentacle erupted from the ocean. Keith gasped:

“L-Lotor, it’s – it’s better than I – I – I imagined.”

The sixth tentacle pushed forward a little. Keith opened his mouth and took it inside, while licking underneath the head and flicking his tongue along the slit, and he bobbed his head up and down, while swallowing hard on every downward bob so that his throat would contract around the head. Lotor clicked a rapid succession of sounds. He was soon thrusting his penis-tentacle fast and hard into Keith’s mouth, while pre-come spurted out even fasted, and Keith was so close to coming, as the mouth on his cock worked him with just as much passion.

_There was no way this could get any better!_

A seventh tentacle slowly emerged from the water, but stranger than the others . . . the ‘mouth’ around his cock was milking him in earnest now, while seemingly self-lubricating, and a part of him wondered if it was more ‘vagina’ than ‘mouth’. The newest tentacle was long and slender, purple as the rest of Lotor, but appeared a narrow tube that reminded Keith of the ovipositors seen on various animals during his school studies.

It slid behind him, before squeezing between his cheeks. He remembered well his sexual educations classes . . . _lubrication, stretching, patience_. . . a terrible part of him feared that this would be painful, enough that he clenched and hissed. Lotor rasped out: ‘ _relax’_. It took every ounce of strength to relax his inner muscles, as the point of the organ slid slowly inside him, and – maybe the girth of a finger at most – it worked its way inside him with relative ease, while awkwardly following the natural curve to his inner walls.

Keith gasped and bucked backward. Nothing had ever been inside him before, but this filled him and stretched him and _owned_ him . . . it was warm and intense, so every clench reminded him of its presence, and it thrust in and out of him with low groans from Lotor. The pre-come was flooding his mouth, while the tentacle about his dick milked him with growing speed and pressure, and Keith pulled back his head enough to shout out:

“Oh God, fuck me, Lotor. Fuck me!”

The tentacle shoved roughly back into his mouth. It nearly choked him, until pre-come and saliva dripped from his lips down his chin, and he bucked back on the tentacle deep inside his behind, which now let loose loud slaps and slurps out into the would around them. The waves were coming higher, as the tide came inward, and they brushed against his cock and the tentacle around it, as he choked out around the one in his mouth.

He could barely breathe through his building pleasure . . . _‘uh, uh, uh’_. . . every nerve was burning, as a sweat broke over his skin and every muscle shuddered, and soon the eighth and last tentacle appeared, where it brushed against both his nipples. It was too much. Keith screamed out around the tentacle in his mouth, while he shot rope after rope of come into the tentacle around his dick. His toes curled. His hands fisted. The inner walls of his behind clenched around the tentacle in his dick with a vice-like grip. It was perfection!

_Oh God. Oh God, oh God . . ._

Warmth filled his insides, as something thick and large pushed inside him, but – before he could think too long and hard on matters – bursts of sugary sweet come flooded his mouth until he was choking on the white substance. It leaked out from the sides of his lips, as he strove to drink down as much as possible. The tentacle on his dick milked him for all he was worth, while his body fell limp and he panted for breath, and only the tentacles about his body kept him in the air and stopped him from drowning in those cool waters.

He was thoroughly fucked. The pleasure coursed through every vein, as his eyes finally focussed and his lungs gasped for air, and – as the tentacles inside him slid away – come leaked from every orifice and drool fell in torrents from his lips. Lotor looked to him with blown pupils, while Keith struggled to come back to Earth, and for the first time in his life he _knew_ what people wanted healthy and active sex lives. This was heaven! Keith murmured:

“Can – Can we do that again some time?”

Lotor gave a hissing laugh.

* * *

_‘Can I hold him?’_

_Keith peered down over the edge of the aquarium. A small child sat centre of the sands, where Lance curled around them in a spiral shape, and Keith noted – with a smile – this one could pass in human with a scarf to cover the gills and something to hide its tail. The past few months went by in a blur, with stolen trips to the beach for a thorough fucking and many hours spent with his now expanding family, and he felt . . . torn._

_He wanted to spend more time with Lotor, but every minute with him was a minute away from his nephews that grew ever larger and his brother who grew ever prouder, and sometimes – after a long night on the beach – Lance would glare at him and sneer, as if trying to express disdain that some mysterious and unknown partner could take priority over his brood. Keith reached down into the aquarium, where he stroked at the brown hair of Ryo, and the tiny baby yawned and nuzzled against the scales of its father with pursed lips._

_‘When he wakes,’ promised Shiro._

_Keith gently pulled back his arm, unable to take his eyes away from Ryo. The birth was surprisingly easier than he expected, perhaps as humans always seemed to make things harder than necessary, and he was pleased to see that Lance rested well, with only a slight pouch to indicate the weight yet to be lost. Tears brimmed behind his eyes, as they threatened to fall over his cheeks. This was the miracle of birth. He stepped back, as Yuki and Ren clung to his belt and stood on tiptoes to get a better view of their brother. A miracle . . ._

_* * *_

“Hey, Lotor, where are you?”

Keith kicked at the sands with a bare foot. They scattered in the sunlight in small clouds, while the waves lapped lightly a little further down, and – with each one growing closer and closer – a part of him feared that today would be a day where Lotor was busy, especially as he was particular hoping to get to know him a little better. Keith sighed and walked into the waves, before sitting down and letting the waters slosh around his waist.

It took only a few minutes to see the familiar squid-head of his lover, with hair trailing behind him on the water’s surface, and two tentacles swept out to yank Keith towards him, before they embraced him tight and Lotor nuzzled against him. Keith smiled. He buried his hands into the thick hair, while massaging the scalp and appreciating the clicks that spoke of pleasure, and another tentacle – the one with the penis – pushed against his buttocks in a teasing manner, despite being still flaccid and only just starting to harden.

Keith laughed, while trailing kisses over Lotor’s face. There was a bit more distance between them than when they first met, as Lotor appeared to swell underneath his head, although – being a squid – Keith supposed that could also be his body, and Keith bore a swollen stomach in turn, with Shiro teasing him that he could be carrying ‘eggs’. Keith flushed a deep shade of red, as he looked away from Lotor and frowned. He muttered out:

“So – er – I put on some weight . . . sorry.”

Lotor growled, as a tentacle snatched at his chin, and – forcing his head around – Keith was forced to stare into a pair of eyes narrowed and dark, while the tentacle on his behind hardened as if in response to his weight gain. Keith let loose a shuddered breath, while he licked his lips and felt one of the regular tentacles tracing strange patterns around his abdomen, and the lines on Lotor’s eyes deepened as if in a smile. Keith asked:

“You don’t mind?”

Lotor rolled his blue eyes.

“Hey, it was a valid question.” Keith blushed. “You know humans don’t like weight gain, right? They like their partners to be slim with flat stomachs. How am I supposed to know what squids like in sexual partners? Do you guys even have preferences or sexualities or kinks? Oh God, is that what I am to you? Am I human fetish or something?”

A tentacle slapped him upside his head. Keith frowned and flicked at Lotor’s forehead, or – at least – what he _hoped_ was his forehead, before he pushed away and swam further out into sea, as a familiar purple form swam beneath the surface in time with him, and Keith blinked back tears to realise he would never be alone again. He stopped some distance away and waited for the five non-sexual tentacles to wrap around him, where they entangled and tugged and suctioned on tight, and he was lost in the embrace of the squid he loved.

“A-Anyway, I came here to tell you that I’m now living with Shiro. I’m going to commute into work each morning, but I might start an online video series for weight control and general fitness, maybe write some books like Shiro started to write, and – well – it’ll let me be here more, especially if I work from home. I could see you more often.”

Lotor hissed and clicked in rapid succession.

“I _want_ to see you more often . . .”

Lotor tightened his embrace. The ‘mouth’ tentacle – as Keith dubbed it for its forked tongue – came up to lick at his cheek, while he reached for it and nuzzled against it with a sad smile, and he relished in the soft sensation of the wet flesh against his skin. It was a relief to have the waves brushing against them, where the only living creatures in sight were the two of them, and the world belonged to them alone. Keith wrapped his arms around Lotor.

The sunshine beamed down on them, warming both in the bright day, and Keith teased the familiar thick ‘penis’ tentacle with his foot, as he buried his face into the side of Lotor’s head, while spreading his legs in invitation. Lotor clicked at him. It was clear he knew Keith was seeking to distract him from a serious conversation, but he hardened a little regardless, while one tentacle clasped the back of his neck and stroked at his hair. The touch was comforting, while Keith closed his eyes and relished in the small intimacies.

“I thought Shiro was crazy, you know?”

Lotor clicked.

“I see it now, though,” mumbled Keith. “I – I didn’t tell you, but I really struggled growing up around these parts . . . Shiro – Shiro was my only friend for a long while, which I guess is kind of sad when he’s also my brother, but I just didn’t have anyone around that believed in me or wanted me or respected me. I once stole his car, kind of went through a rebellious phase, but he still wouldn’t turn his back on me. He still cared.

“It’s why I always wanted what was best for him. I have this thing called – ah – autism, so I had a really bad childhood with bullying and being bullied, and I had to fight tooth and nail to learn how to understand others and sort of . . . camouflage myself. Everything I did was wrong . . . how I walked was wrong, how I talked was wrong . . . it was all wrong.”

Lotor nuzzled against him with a trill.

“I was always told how I _should_ act and how I _should_ talk. I was told by friends and family and strangers, even teachers and doctors, and I was told that – even though I was averse to touch and awkward with emotional displays – I _should_ be dating and having sex and getting ready to settle down with kids, and it’s just. . . even my private life is up for public debate.

“I think a part of my internalised it, so that I thought that was what was normal, and I thought Shiro needed those things, too. I love him so much, you know? He always accepted me for me, and he only ever taught me to _cope_ and not to _change_. I want him to be happy! I feel like I owe him for everything he’s done to me, and I just . . . I thought _that_ was how you have to be happy, like there’s no other way. I kept trying to push him back to Adam.”

Keith furrowed his brow, as he used Lotor for balance. The waves were picking up in strength, while they drifted a little further each time from the shore, and Keith remembered one time riding on Lotor’s back, as they swam out to distant shores and islands in the nearby vicinity of the house. He ran his fingers through white locks of hair, while he gazed towards the clouds that drifted so slowly throughout the sky above. The world was quiet. It was just them and the waves, while every muscle in his body relaxed and Lotor filled his senses.

“Now I see that happiness isn’t doing what society expects,” said Keith. “It’s not about playing the role of a ‘normal’ person was best as you can, but just being with people who accept you and that you accept in turn. It’s about being . . . well . . . happy.”

Lotor cooed and blinked back tears.

“I feel happy when I’m with you. I know this started off as just sex, but you accept me for who I am without any expectations or pressures or judgements, and – when I’m with you – I see your personality . . . your devious nature, your passions, your loyalty. . . I want to spend more and more time with you, because it’s _you_. I – I like you, Lotor.”

Keith blushed and spun around. He tried to swim back to shore, but tentacles entangled him and covered him until he was essentially captured by Lotor, and – with tears of happiness streaming from his eyes – there was no iota of self-consciousness . . . no fear of being judged by someone just for being emotionally open. Keith arched his back and reached behind him, so that he could stroke at Lotor’s cheek and mould their bodies together. This was his first love and first real friend, and he couldn’t help as the words tumbled from his lips:

“I like you . . .”

* * *

Lotor pointed to his stomach.

It was extended. Keith failed to notice at first, as it was difficult to tell when a squid gained or lost weight, but there was a noticeable swelling underneath his ‘head’, and it made movement of his tentacles difficult in comparison to recent months. Lotor moved with slow and steady strides through the water, while jostling to and fro as is in discomfort, and Keith struggled to remain calm, especially when the children played not far from them.

Shiro paddled along the shore with Ren, who clung to his leg with small stubby hands, and Yuki took to racing Lance in the waters, while Shiro cradled their mostly human baby against his chest with loud laughter that reverberated all around the group. It was a small comfort, as his family were so close and so safe, but it did little to stop the racing of his heart that pounded in his ears and drowned out all other sounds. Keith dropped to his knees, while the waters washed over his white limbs and cooled his now cold skin.

“I – I can’t be a father,” whispered Keith.

The tears were already building behind his eyes. Keith brought two trembling hands to his face, as he tented them before his lips in an attempt to help breathe, and yet – as he struggled to calm down – Lotor appeared jostled all the more. He swam in frantic circles, while two tentacles cradled the swelling underneath his body. Lotor rapidly blinked. It took all of Keith’s speed and strength to snatch at one of his tentacles, before he swam into the abyss.

“N-No, it’s not you! It’s just –”

Keith let loose a low sob. He wiped at his tears with a shaking smile, while he let go of Lotor and fell flat on his back, as he stared at the sky and let the hot rays of the sun burn dark spots into his vision. Lotor clicked twice and crawled onto the shore, where two tentacles ran through his hair and three more traced loose patterns over his body. The three explicit tentacles were left in the sand, so that the intent would not be misconstrued, but his eyes still shimmered with tears and his expression was stern . . . Lotor feared rejection.

“I – I don’t know if I told you, but . . . my mother . . . she –!” Keith swallowed hard. “My mother abandoned me as a child. I don’t even remember her, not really, but I remember every night asking my dad when I would get to meet her and when I would get to talk to her, and a few stray letters that just sort of . . . stopped . . . like she got bored of writing to me. I – I noticed she put stickers over parts of the letter, too, where she rewrote sections.

“There were parts where she promised I could spend time with her, only to fucking change her mind and put a sticker over the top! My dad said she met me once, only to ask how old I was, because – yeah – that’s how invested she was in my life. I asked myself every night what was wrong with me, because isn’t a mother’s love meant to be instinctual?

“How could a mother walk away from her baby like that? Was it me? Was it my autism? Was there something intrinsically wrong with me that she couldn’t love? I – I guess – I guess that’s part of why I struggled to trust people, especially when my dad died and it just felt like everyone left me in one form or another, you know? He chose to put his life at risk every day, and while he’s my hero -? He still would rather die than be safe with me.”

Lotor squeezed him tight.

“I’m scared, Lotor. I’m scared my baby won’t love me either, because there’s something wrong with me and they’ll just be stuck with me, and – worse – I’m terrified that this is something hereditary . . . like something evil inside me . . . I don’t want to ever leave them and having them blame themselves! I don’t want them to put off romance, because they can’t bear the idea of rejection or think themselves unlovable, and all because of _me_.

“You – You’re so _perfect_.” Keith winced. “I know any child of ours will be perfect, too, because they’ll have the most beautiful and intelligent father in the world, but they’ll also have a bit of _me_ inside them. What if I fuck them up? What if they end up like me? I – I love them already, which is why I don’t want to hurt them, but it’s in my head, and –”

Lotor pulled him close with all tentacles. Keith was enveloped by them, held close by the purple limbs that squirmed and touched all over him, and he wept against them with loud wracked sobs, while tears tan down his cheeks and tasted salty on his lips. They lay embraced together for a long few minutes, even as Ren shouted over in concern and Shiro dragged him away with a few whispered reassurances, and soon he lifted his head and stared into those beautiful blue eyes of his squid lover. Lotor stroked at his hair.

“I don’t want to hurt them,” said Keith.

A small trill escaped Lotor, who used the mouth tentacle to lick at Keith’s cheek. It was ticklish enough to force a few laughs from him, but intimate enough to prove that it was a gesture of reassurance and affection. Keith sniffed and turned his head to press his lips to the ‘mouth’, as his tongue explored the orifice of the tentacle and the sweet juices inside, and soon they pulled apart with heavy pants and low laughter. Lotor hissed alongside him.

They remained locked together, until arousal forced them apart with an audience so close, and Keith ran his hands through his hair, as he lifted a leg to hide his growing member. Lotor continued to stroke and prod at him, unwilling to let him go in his moment of weakness, and yet it wasn’t enough to get rid of the fears . . . _so many sleepless nights, so many nightmares, so may long-lasting triggers . . ._  Keith sniffed at wiped at his eyes, as he realised Lotor was still here at his side. Lotor still loved him. He wasn’t worthless.

* * *

The light of the incubator were bright. It reflected from the egg in a strange manner, casting shadows around its base that made it appear larger than life, and the purple hue was accentuated with dark brown flecks over the firm shell. A glass case encircled the egg, so that the little hands of curious children would be unable to poke and prod, while Lotor slept in a small tank just to the side, exhausted from the effort of squeezing out such an egg.

Shiro stood beside Keith, who gazed in wonder at the developing life. He bounced Ryo in his arms, who murmured with the contented sounds only a newborn could make, and Shiro smiled with a beautiful grin that deepened the lines about his eyes, while he smoothed down the hair of their youngest child. Keith chuckled and reached out to offer a finger to Ryo, who lightly held it with tiny wrinkled fingers. The eyes stayed closed. He seemed to sleep with his ear pressed to Shiro’s chest to listen to his beating heart, and Keith could only ask:

“I thought you said Lance’s were live births?”

Shiro nodded towards the sofa. It was still wet from where Lance slept a few hours before, until he was lifted into his aquarium, but – strangely – his presence eased Lotor’s anxiety, as he gave birth in a small paddling pool in the centre of the lounge. The water was still murky and needed to be emptied, but emotions were so high and everyone was so tired, and so they simply stared at the egg in its incubator while the children slept in the aquarium beside Lance, who sang to them with the trill sound unique to his species.

“They were,” said Shiro. “I don’t know why Lotor was so different, but Lance and I struggle to express complex concepts to one another, because – well – language can be a bit of a barrier when one of you lacks lips and a tongue. I tried teaching him sign language once, until I realised he couldn’t sign back . . . ah, a bit of a blond moment that time.”

“So what do you theorise?” Keith furrowed his brow. “I read that eels usually die after laying eggs, but Lance is still alive and well . . . do they have proper biology like other marine biology? I’m starting to think they’re like . . . cursed or something?”

“You mean like with magic?”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Keith. “Do you know most species of squid only live for one or two years, but Lotor told me that he’s twenty-seven? What if they don’t have some society down there, or what if they _do_ except it was full of people just like them? It could explain why Lotor wants to be on land so much, as well as why so much of that happens . . . here.”

Shiro hummed, as he patted Ryo on his back. It was a rhythmic and gentle tapping sound, which echoed about the room in time to the low snores from Yuki, and Keith nearly fell asleep listening to the waves crashing against the shore outside. They were due rain later, which meant he would get to drift off to the relaxing patter of raindrops against windowpanes, and he yawned and leaned against Shiro, only to be jostled in time to those same pats as the movement of his arm knocked Keith. He smiled and closed his eyes.

“One day I’ll solve the mystery,” said Keith.

A soft chuckle escaped Shiro, who nudged him gently with his arm. Keith pulled back to rub at his eyes and regain some focus, before he fell against the other side of the sofa and cuddled up with a soft pillow, albeit – with a grimace –it was some distance from him, as his stomach was still beyond its usual size. Shiro gently took Ryo over to the aquarium, where he lowered him inside with the help of Lance who swam up to meet him. Shiro called over:

“In the meantime, focus on being a father.”

Keith stared ahead at the egg. It was about the size of two clenched fists, borne from Lotor who struggled just as a human would have struggled, and yet it was there with perfect shape and structure ready to one day awaken. He feared they would look too much like the other children, thus unable to go to school or play with others, and yet he also knew they would be loved by a family that adored them, with a life that many would envy. Keith wanted to hold them and kiss them and tell them how much he loved them. He whispered:

“I honestly can’t wait . . .”

* * *

_The television flickered with various images. Lotor would trill and coo at the sight of space, where vast arrays of stars and galaxies were laid out before them, and he would nuzzle closer and click at the pictures of jungles that were beyond the imagination of one previously locked in the depths of the salty sea waters. They lay together on the sofa, while Shiro played with the children and Lance on the beach. The laughter was heard even from the house._

_They sat in silence, while their egg rested beneath the bright lamp. It was a beautiful sight, enough that Keith continuously took photos despite Lotor always rolling his eyes, and he was already so desperate to see inside, as he asked questions over and over . . . curious whether they could make a little hole to look inside. Keith ran his hands through Lotor’s hair, while the eight tentacles splayed about the sofa in a lazy manner. He was handsome._

_‘I love you,’ whispered Keith._

_It was strange how different they were from Shiro and Lance. Shiro wanted to join Lance in the ocean, escaping reality and society by becoming a part of something more fantastical, but Lotor dreamt of becoming human and living alongside Keith, as he taught Keith how to cope and grow and adapt for the environment in which he always longed to belong. They lay entwined on the soft cushions, with their whole lives ahead of them._

_Keith hummed and pressed a kiss to the squid head. A tentacle rested on his stomach, which was still extended and a little sore, and – squirming beneath Lotor – Keith wondered whether it was time to see a doctor about what was now a growing lump inside him. He was starting to get constipated, as if what was inside was blocking exist for natural bodily emissions, but for now he wanted to just forget his worries and bask in the affection of his eight-legged lover, while he closed his eyes and let the sunlight wash over him. Life was perfect._

* * *

Keith screamed.

The pain was beyond anything imaginable. It tore at his insides, like a bad stomach bug or appendicitis, and – every time they clenched and churned – he doubled over with loud groans that put every single person on edge. He clawed at his skin. He panted for breath. Every time he tried to use the toilet, nothing would happen and he would sob in frustration. It burned along his rim, while his stomach started to ache all over with acid, and it was too much . . .

Panic started to settle into his system, as his scalp crawled as if insects swarmed him. He sobbed and collapsed to his knees, before he dropped onto the rug centre of the lounge, while Lance bounced Ryo with a strangely awkward positioning of his serpent-like body, and every splash – every ripple of water – stole his full attention. Keith sought for a distraction. He stared fixated on those waters, even as Lotor crawled out of his tank and ran his suction cups over swollen stomach in an attempt to ease the pain, but nothing worked and nothing helped.

A cool hand pressed against his forehead. Keith wept as someone knelt down, with a creak of the floorboards, and he looked up to see the blurred face of Shiro, who pushed back sweat-soaked hair with a trembling hand and muttered questions. It was difficult to focus, but even more so to stay conscious. Shiro jerked his head with a curse. He scooped Keith into his arms and dragged him onto the sofa, before rushing about to find the car keys.

“Okay,” said Shiro. “I _need_ to take him to hospital.”

Lotor rolled his eyes, before snatching at a piece of paper. A pen was stolen from the table, while he drew on the white sheet with great skill and dexterity, and – as Keith sobbed and writhed and kicked – a drawing slowly formed on the page . . . a squid appeared to be shooting an egg into a person, only for that person to ‘eject’ the egg on the next part of the page with a pained expression. Lotor lifted one tentacle with the ovipositor.

A cold dread swept over Keith. He rolled over, where his extended stomach pushed against the sofa cushions with an uncomfortable pressure, and he said nothing as Lotor came around to lower his trousers. The pain was too intense to care about embarrassment. The tentacles pried open his cheeks, while Lotor trilled and cooed and gestured to Shiro, and Shiro – with a loud gasp and stammered nonsense – reached down with a cold hand to push at something that kept his hole wide. Keith prayed it wasn’t faeces, as he choked out:

“I – I have a fucking _egg_ inside of me?”

“Language,” chirped Ren.

Shiro pushed again, as the large object moved slightly back inside. Keith swore and kicked with enough strength that Shiro limped back, and – as he stumbled and whined in pain – he grabbed for the two children and ushered them out into the kitchen, before settling them down with various distractions and wandering back inside. Keith reached down to his behind, where something hard and smooth stretched wide his anus, and it was nothing like any usual defecation or the large penis of Lotor’s one particular tentacle. This was an egg . . . _an egg._

A searing pain tore through him again, as he strained to push the egg out. Lotor massaged his lower back, while parting his lower cheeks and using a sucker to try and help pull the egg from him with some extra force, and another pair of tentacles massaged his shoulders. Shiro pulled a chair to the head of the sofa, while he clasped Keith’s cheeks and force eye-contact, while he chirped out words of encouragement. Keith turned red in the face, as he screamed:

“Oh God, I – I think – I think it’s coming out!”

Keith screamed as he pushed out hard. Brief memories of a faecal impaction crossed through his mind . . . _a bad diet living with Shiro for the first time, an intestinal blockage that nearly required surgery, and a sleepless night spent vomiting and contracting and squeezing . . ._ Keith panted for breath and felt his rim spread with a strange squelch. It was halfway out, enough that he could feel it with firmness as his inner walls clenched around the outside.

He pushed again and again, while Lotor slowly pulled out, and – as Shiro offered his hands, giving him something to hold and squeeze – a final scream escaped his lips, until blood specked at the cushions in front of him from the torn throat. The inner walls slowly loosened and relaxed, as something passed through them, and a huge relief coursed through him, until he collapsed against the sofa cushions with panted breaths. He felt his rim twitch and wink, while he half-closed his eyes and Shiro rushed to his behind. Keith asked:

“I – I did okay? We’re okay?”

Lotor nodded.

“There doesn’t seem to be any blood,” said Shiro. “I guess it attached itself to your intestine and came out when ready, but – just to be safe – I want to take you to the emergency room, Keith. We can tell them you had a bout of gastroenteritis, but that you had excruciating pain and felt something rip . . . an ultrasound and x-ray will put our minds at rest.”

“Who – Who will watch the kids?”

“Lotor is fully recovered from his birth. The kids are pretty self-sufficient except for Ryo, while these little guys aren’t going to hatch any time soon, and everything is child-proofed so the boys still haven’t worked out how to fight the baby-gate or pop the lids to medicines.”

“F-First – First time for everything,” teased Keith.

“Like giving birth to an egg from your eight-legged lover?”

Keith chuckled, as Shiro wrapped up the egg and brought it over. He wanted to run his hand over its surface, but he knew – where it lurked – it was best to wait for someone to wash it clean and sterilise its surface, and yet it was the most beautiful sight in the world. It bore a purple hue like the other, with the same brown flecks, and he smiled like a fool with sheer pride for this amazing potential for life, all created from his form. Shiro took the egg quickly to the incubator, where it could sit by its brother. It was perfection.

Lotor crawled over to the egg, while the twins played in the kitchen with giggles, and Keith barely noticed as his trousers were pulled up, but he did notice as he was taken outside in the cold air towards the car that waited in the driveway. He murmured and shook his head, as he longed to stay with his yet-be-hatched child, and Shiro ignored him to lay him gently in the backseat, while he ran a hand through his hair and whispered:

“Come on, let’s get you looked over.”

* * *

_A loud crack._

Keith jumped awake. The house was silent, except for the loud splashes of Lance, who danced in the water with excitement and in hopes of alerting attention, and already Lotor was reaching for the eggs with two long tentacles, before carrying them over to the water tank and climbing inside with the eggs nested at the bottom of the sands in his tentacles. The twins were sound asleep, while Shiro stirred from an adjacent chair with a loud yawn.

The eggs slowly cracked all over, both at the same moment. A few little specks fell to the sands, which Keith swore to collect and save for their baby-books, and soon larger portions cracked away . . .  tentacles were the first to appear . . . one set purple like one father, but the other brown like their other father. The next few minutes passed like an eternity, until – finally – they were fully cracked away and no shell remained. Keith saw them. He saw his children for the first time in his life, as he wept with pure bliss.

They both had human heads. The one with white tentacles bore black hair and blue eyes, with features very similar to Lotor, and the one with purple skin bore black hair with blue-grey eyes, as he shared features with both parents in equal measure. They were almost like newborn baby heads with tentacles spurting from the neck, like strange half-human and half-squid creatures, and yet they were _his_ half-squid creatures . . . his children.

“I can’t – I can’t believe . . .”

Lotor raised the one with black hair upward, so that Keith could gently scoop it from the water tank and gaze into its eyes that were rather alert, and – already more developed than most newborns and slightly bigger in size – it felt strange to support the neck and even stranger for eight legs to be squirming wildly all over the place, as their soon struggled to get used to his new limbs. The other child was already swimming in his tank.

“Congratulations, Keith,” said Shiro.

He lowered the child in his arms back into the water. Lotor had written down names only a few days ago . . . Thace and Ulaz . . . Thace was the one with white tentacles, who slowly sank to the bottom and was content to cuddle against his father, and Ulaz was the one swimming about with gurgles and splutters of odd sounds, while his blue-grey eyes watched Keith with a strange awareness. He pressed his hand to the tank. Ulaz pressed a tentacle back.

“I – I’m a father,” whispered Keith.

Keith wept in earnest, as Shiro embraced him from behind. He would now spend every day in service of his children . . . feeding them, teaching them, and changing their water . . . every second was a miracle to cherish, while he could barely take his eyes from them, and he saw the same adoration in Lotor, who refused to let go of them with his tentacles. Time stood still, as the stars sparkled from the windows behind and their life began anew. Keith swore he would always love them. He would always protect them. He would never leave them.

“I’m a father . . .”

* * *

Keith lay entwined with Lotor on the beach. Shiro stood not far to the side, where he barbequed some food with Ren and Yuki at his side begging to learn, and Ryo gurgling in his stroller, while covered head-to-toe in thick layers of sunscreen. Lance swam with Thace and Ulaz in the low tide, as he taught them to dive and jump, while corralling them back to the shore when they threatened to get too far away from the shore.  

It was the perfect summer day, as they all basked in life itself. Keith fingered the small box in his pocket, while his other hand encircled one tentacle and ran up and down it with slow movements, until – with a blush – he realised how sexual it may have seemed and pulled it away with a nervous cough. A hissed chuckle was the only response, as two tentacles came upward to massage his shoulders and ease away some of his tension. The strong sun warmed their flesh and brought a small sweat to Keith’s anxious skin, as he choked out:

“Are you happy?”

Lotor nodded.

“I’m – I’m happy, too.” Keith blushed. “I swear that one day I’ll work out how we can all be together on solid land, because . . . because you used to be human, didn’t you? I want to help you and the others, especially Lance, because then we can all just be free to be ourselves, and we can spend all night talking and laughing and dating in public.”

Lotor let loose a hissing laugh, before his three intimate tentacles rose. Keith blushed. The ovipositor, the penis, and the mouth/vagina all were waved before him. He lightly slapped one away, while his mind instinctively went to the sexual acts between them, and Lotor hissed again before a small lick was placed to a blushing cheek. A low breeze brushed over them, as Keith cuddled closer and traced his fingers over Lotor’s stomach.

“It’s not _all_ about sex, you know? I – I know that’s good . . . _great_. . . I’ll actually – ah – kind of miss your tentacles, if you really were human like I suspect. Still, I’ve been looking up anyone named ‘Lance’ or ‘Lotor’ missing nearby. I – I found two people that fit your descriptions, both with family that miss them and want them back . . .

“I always wondered what my in-laws were like, Lotor. I also always wanted to show you off to guys like James back in town, because no one believed I’d ever amount to anything, and I – I – I found someone so perfect and affectionate and passionate!”

Keith turned an ever deeper shade of red. He tried to hide his face against Lotor, but Lotor took no mercy and pried him back so that they could lock eyes, and – seeing such love and affection – all embarrassment left him in a large flood . . . this was the man he wanted to spend his life with, whether he was a squid or not. He wanted more mornings waking in each others tentacles and limbs, along with more evenings being the last thing they saw, and he knew he wanted nothing else in life. Keith blinked back tears of happiness.

He gently pulled himself away from Lotor, before he knelt down on one knee before him, and Lotor – letting out a loud gasp – rolled onto his side and propped himself up on two tentacles, in an all too human gesture that made Keith laugh with appreciation. Keith pulled the box from his pocket, before he popped it open and revealed a beautiful diamond ring customised so that it would be large enough to fit one of the non-sexual tentacles with perfect ease.

“Lotor, will you marry me?”

Lotor let out a high-pitched keen. He threw his tentacles around Keith, pulling him in impossibly tight, and – just as Keith nearly lost consciousness – let go to clasp his tentacles awkwardly before him with rapid nods of his head. There were tears in his eyes, which was strange when he never thought sea creatures capable of crying, and yet they were there as Lotor trembled all over and nodded even faster. Keith swallowed hard and asked:

“Is – is that a ‘yes’?”

The ring was snatched from its box, before being slid high onto one tentacle. Lotor spun around and pulled Keith closer again, right as the penis tentacle started to harden and the mouth tentacle started to lick at his cheeks, and Keith squealed as he lifted Lotor bridal-style and rushed towards the house as fast as he was able. He shouted back ‘ _he said yes’_ , while Shiro and the kids whooped loud in response. Life was perfect. Keith slowed down as they reached home, before swinging Lotor in his arms and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you,” swore Keith.


End file.
